THE TWO RACES WHICH PEOPLED POLYNESIA. 
31 
In New Zealand Sir G. Grey, tlie governor, made the 
discovery of a cnrions relic of antiquity on the small island 
of Mokoia, in the middle of Rotorua Lake. This was 
formerly an extremely sacred spot, where their most vene- 
rated objects were preserved. During his visit there in 
1866 he found two old priests still keeping guard over them. 
Knowing the interest the Governor took in everything re- 
lating to the past history of their race, and probably to 
ingratiate themselves with him, they took him to the island, 
and to his surprise showed him the site of an ancient temple, 
clearly marked by flax plants, an oblong square in shape, 
with a curious recess in the end, the furthest removed from 
the entrance. Into this adytum the old priests went, 
and there removing a few inches of the soil disclosed a 
well executed idol of stone, as large as life ; it was repre- 
sented in a sitting posture, with the elbows resting on the 
knees, the legs crossed, and the face looking upwards. This 
idol the Governor stated was a fac simile of one presented 
to him on a former occasion by the natives of the same part, 
only of much smaller size, yet apparently of a similar kind 
of stone, a species of porphyry, both probably brought 
by their ancestors when they first came to the island. Their 
traditions state, that when they left Hawaiki they took their 
gods with them, of those the most celebrated were five 
brought by Kiuwai and Hangaroa, two of which called 
Ilmngaru and Itupaoa were in existence unto a very late 
date. The Ihungaru was a lock of human hair, twisted 
with a rope of ante, made from the paper mulberry bark, 
and kept in a house built of wood brought from Hawaiki 
and thatched with the mange-mange.* This fell into the 
hands of Hongi and the Ngapuhi tribe when they stormed 
the Mokoia Pa in 1823, where it was preserved; thence it 
was carried to an eminence on the main land overlooking 
the lake, where the victors chopped it to pieces with their 
tomahawks, that it might no longer be a palladium to their 
enemies. Of the Itupaoa no description was preserved ; it 
was kept with the former at Mokoia, but was secreted by the 
* A beautiful climbing fern. 
